When the Lights Go Down
by 0a0
Summary: HouseWilson. Not quite a oneshot. They had a fight, but they can't live without each other.


**Author's Note: English is not my mother tongue, so please be gentle. It's also my first fanfic ever. Do let me know what you think though!**

**And no, House MD or any of it's characters are not mine, they're David Shore's. I'm not making any profit here, so don't sue me! I rated it T just in case. **

**Oh, and one other thing: Lyrics where borrowed by Faith Hill. I really hope I won't get in trouble for this. Now, on with the story.**

He'd messed it up. Again. How the heck had this happened? House poured himself another Jim Beam and dry-swallowed two Vicodin. He knew they wouldn't help, but damn it, he was in pain... Only this time it was his heart aching.

Earlier:

They were watching TV. House's fingers were lightly entwined with Wilson's. House wasn't big on showing emotions, not even to his lover of three months and not even when they were home alone. Wilson's thumb lightly fluttered over the back of House's hand, stroking it ever so slightly. He knew House was brooding over something and he was patiently waiting for him to finally bring it up.

When commercials came on he saw from the corner of his eye how House was turning towards him. The excruciatingly blue gaze seemed to burn holes into his head. Wilson sighed and turned towards House.

"So, what's going on with you and that new blonde nurse in Oncology?" House finally asked.

"Nothing!" Wilson answered a little too fast.

"Oh, nothing! Is that so?! Like nothing ever went on with all the other nurses, heh?" House's voice was calm. Wilson knew that was a very bad sign. He sighed again before shortly closing his eyes, bringing his right hand up to the bridge of his nose and pinching it. "Nothing's going on. I told you. More than once. I made a promise to not cheat on you, I've got no intention of breaking it and I guess you'll just have to trust me on that one!"

House got up, hobbled to the kitchen and made far too much noise getting one of the glasses out of the cupboard.

When he came back he faintly smelled of whiskey. Wilson knew House shouldn't be drinking alcohol with the amount of pain killers he had already taken during the day, but he didn't say anything. House wouldn't listen anyway, so why bother?

"Sometimes you're really funny, Jimmy, you know that? You _promised_ not to cheat. You also _vowed_ to all three of your ex-wives, but that didn't keep you from cheating, now, did it?"

"I did not cheat on Julie! You know that, she was the one cheating on me!" Wilson replied. They had been over this so many times. He never thought House would get all possessive in a relationship.

"So now we're getting all defensive, huh?" House shouted, which didn't make things better. "How the hell am I supposed to trust you? I've seen you wreck three marriages, I've seen what you did to your wives and I picked up your pieces every time."

"Greg, drop it, will ya?" Wilson growled.

"No, I won't, I have no intention of being the next person you shatter into a thousand pieces…"

"Greg, drop it!" Now Wilson was shouting as well. "I am not having an affair!"

"Oh, I heard you say that a million times before! Now get out!"

Wilson looked at him in disbelief. "Wh-What?"

"I said get out!"

"I live here as well!"

"Yeah, but it's _my_ apartment!"

House had gotten up again and was taking Wilson's coat from the wardrobe. He threw it towards him, shouting again "Get out!"

"You can't be serious", Wilson answered, still standing frozen by the couch.

"Yes, I am serious, dead serious! Get out, I really don't want to see you right now!"

Wilson picked up his coat from where it had landed on the coffee table.

"Greg, please…"

"Out!"

After House had slammed the door on him, Wilson sank to the stairs, leaning the back of his head to the cold wooden door. What the hell had just happened? He sat there for half an hour, listening for any noise from inside, until he was freezing. Then he got a cab and checked into the nearest hotel.

The hotel room was small, dark and shabby. The yellowish curtains did a miserable job in shielding the inside of the room from the light of the street lamp right outside the window. Wilson neatly hung his coat on the wardrobe, undid his tie and hung it on another hanger. He sat down at the foot of the bed, letting his face fall into the palms of his hands. Weird, wasn't it, that all he could think of right now were the dirty dishes in their sink. House's sink…

He let himself fall back on the bed. House was right, he had been fooling around a lot during his marriages and he couldn't say that he didn't actually find the new nurse attractive. She was young, maybe mid-twenties, very slim and had long blonde hair that always reminded him of the color of wheat in the sunshine. She also had very sexy eyes, dark green with sparkles of gold in it. They had talked over lunch in the cafeteria once or twice and he had to admit, he hadn't mention House. Which wasn't his fault, really. They had kept their relationship quiet, House had wanted it that way and Wilson didn't mind. He wasn't quite comfortable with this new situation yet so he found it easier with the hospital staff not knowing. _Yet_, he had to remind himself. Well, for all he knew they would never know if this night had put an end to it all.

He let himself doze off, remembering how it had all begun.

"_Can I stay with you for a few days? I called the divorce lawyer today." Wilson stood at House's front door, pleading. They had ordered Chinese that night, had watched _The L Word _ and House had done a pretty good job in comforting Wilson without ever saying anything about Julie. He liked to have Wilson around, even though he'd never admit that, not even to himself. Wilson had had much too much beer that night and fell asleep sitting on the couch, his head finally falling onto his friend's shoulder. The unexpected warmth of Wilson's head had shocked House. Or maybe it was more the stirring inside his stomach that shocked him. This was his _best friend_… He couldn't… could he? When he finally got up to go to bed he made sure the younger man didn't wake up, pushing a pillow underneath his head and covering him up with a blanket. _

_Wilson had slept on that couch for three weeks until he started complaining about a bad backache. House had then invited him to his bedroom, making sure to be clear about how it was just one bed frame, but with two mattresses in it, nothing weird about it, it would be the same as sharing a hotel room with a colleague when going to a conference. Not that he ever went to conferences…_

_Another five days had passed when House woke up very early one Saturday morning. The sun was just rising outside and he wasn't quite sure what had woken him. Something was different. It took him another couple of minutes until he was awake enough to realize that somebody was on _his_ side of the bed. When he wanted to turn around to see why Wilson hadn't stayed on his side he felt he couldn't move. Something held him down. Wilson had put his arm tightly around House in his sleep. When House concentrated he could even feel Wilson's breath on his neck. Still not fully awake he contemplated on what to do when a thought shot through his head. "Nice way to wake up." Damn it. What the hell was going on? He liked Wilson. A lot. He was his best friend! The thought kept echoing in his head. House kept very still, just to not loose that feeling. He could always pretend to be asleep, too. But when Wilson rustled behind him he was wide awake again, he tried to turn once more, but it was impossible with Wilson's arm clamping him down. He finally had to lift his best friend's arm up with both hands before he could turn around. When he lay on his left side, now facing Wilson he dropped the arm again and it landed on his ribcage. Not that he'd mind. He smirked to himself as he looked at Wilson sleeping. There was peace on his face, his mouth slightly open, his hair messy, which was a rare sight on him. Wilson rustled again, moving his left arm from House's torso to his own side. _

_House saw himself take Wilson's arm and place it back on his ribcage before he realized what he was doing. What the hell, Gregory House! he thought to himself, pull yourself together and stop acting like a teenage boy! _

_But before he could finish mentally scolding himself he felt Wilson pull him closer. When Wilson met resistance he simply skidded closer until their noses were nearly touching. Jimmy was still sleeping, but House realized that now there was no way of getting out of this situation without waking him. Oh, darn, now he already thought of him as Jimmy. Being House he did what he did best._

"_Good morning, sleeping beauty!" he shouted with just too little sarcasm in his voice to really sound like him. He grinned when he saw the painful look on Wilson's face. "Hey, get up, sun is shining and I'm waiting for my coffee!" He yelled even before Wilson had had the time to open his eyes. When he finally did, Wilson found himself barely half an inch from House. It was then when it happened. Without thinking, Wilson just kissed House. It was an innocent kiss, but it left both men shocked. Neither of them said anything, they just tried to find out what the other was thinking by reading their eyes. _

_About a minute of silence passed between them. Wilson suddenly blushed to a bright crimson, broke the eye contact and started to lift his arm from House's body. _

_No, no, no, you moron, can't you read! was all House could think. _

_Before he could leave the bed he pinned him down on the mattress with his weight and kissed an embarrassed Wilson. _

_They didn't say a word. They never had to talk about it. There was nothing to talk about. It all came naturally to them, it was easy. Just reading the other's face was enough, no surprises and no inhibitions, just the eagerness of hands and mouths exploring the other body._

_It hadn't been until three days and two wonderful nights later when they both felt the urge of defining whatever was going on between them. They decided they both wanted whatever it was and House decided he wanted to keep it quiet. _

Maybe they shouldn't have kept it quiet, House thought after pouring another glass of Jim Beam. There would have been a lot of talking behind the back but at least that stupid blonde nurse would have known Wilson was his.

He took the glass, ice clinking inside it, and walked over to the piano. He hadn't played in a long time. He lay his fingers on the keys and let them do the rest. There wasn't any melody at first, but after a couple of minutes his fingers produced a wonderfully sad tune… if he could only remember the lyrics! But no matter how hard he thought, he just couldn't come up with it. He emptied his glass and put it back on top of the piano. Jimmy would be fuming if he saw that. He really liked it tidy. Fuck Wilson, House thought to himself, neither the alcohol nor the Vicodin where doing what they were supposed to. He was still hurting all over, so he decided to go to bed.

He tossed and turned, thinking the whole evening through again. He just _knew_ Wilson was having an affair. That green-eyed monster inside him told him and he was aware of the fact that Wilson was a notorious adulterer. So why should he be different with House? Everybody lies, he told himself. Even Wilson does. But in the back of his head a nagging thought began to grow: What if he didn't?

He woke with a start nearly three hours later. His leg was hurting badly, his head was spinning and he had the distinct feeling that something was wrong. When he realized that Wilson wasn't beside him, he felt lost.

He was already dozing off again, but something kept him awake. If he could just put his finger on it… There were just a couple of words repeating over and over in his head.

_When the lights go down at the end of the day with this game that I play, it's gone another round, as I lay there alone in this big empty bed, nothing but thoughts of you in my head, I think of the things that I wish I had said, when you were still around. _The lyrics of the song his fingers had played accompanied him into dreamland.

When the alarm clock got off he felt more exhausted than he had in a very long time. But he had a patient waiting and his job was the only thing that kept him going. Well, except for Wilson. Oh, Jimmy!

He got ready as fast as his leg would allow him to and sped the bike to the hospital. The nurses behind the reception desk were eyeing him suspiciously when he entered the hospital twenty minutes too early and made his way into Cuddy's office. She was in the middle of a call, but he didn't care. He gave her that look that told her to immediately hang up the phone. He closed to door firmly, hobbled over to her desk and sat down. He wasn't going to leave before he had accomplished his mission, no matter how long it took. Cuddy saw the curious faces outside the glass doors, trying to find out what was wrong, but when she saw her most talented doctor (well, maybe except for Wilson, she thought) and the look on his face she concentrated on him.

Wilson tried to smooth the dress shirt he had been sleeping in, but finally gave up and buttoned up his jacket. He'd just have to keep his lab coat on the whole day. As if that was his biggest problem!

He had slept, but dreams of House had been haunting him all night. They changed too quickly to make sense, but he vaguely remembered House on his bike, House and him on House's couch, House and him kissing. If he could just figure out a way to make House trust him, to make him see that he didn't have an affair (and he didn't! He was a little surprised by himself, but he had realized he really honestly had no intention of being with anybody else but House)!

He took a cab to the hospital and saw House's bike parked outside in the disabled parking place. Wilson checked again, yes, it was Greg's bike, but that would mean he was at the hospital already. Early.

Wilson entered the hospital and decided to stop by the third floor. He wanted to make up. He'd say anything just for them to be okay again. But nobody was in the conference room. House wasn't in his office either. Oh, well, it seems like he'd have to stop by later.

Cuddy felt overwhelmed. When House left her office after nearly an hour and a half, her cheeks were brightly red and she wasn't sure she was able to walk, so she just stayed put and called her secretary to bring her some coffee. She'd never seen House like this before. She'd seen him drugged, drunk and tired, but never, never in all those years had she seen him … well, what exactly would one call it?

When she felt she might be able to walk again the got up and took the elevator to the third floor.

House had left Cuddy's office feeling light-hearted and relieved. He'd thought it would be more complicated. Cuddy hadn't exactly been thrilled by the news, but she'd taken them pretty well.

In his office he was sitting with his face in his hands, brooding over what to do next. That's how Wilson found him. He cautiously knocked on the glass door before opening it.

"I…" his right hand instinctively found its way to his neck, massaging it. House knew he only did that when Wilson was tired.

"I'm not having an affair." Darn, maybe he should've thought about what to say before looking for House. He expected House to yell at him, so throw his oversized tennis ball or anything else, maybe worse, at him, but what he didn't expect was House smirking at him.

"I know."

"What the…"

"Jimmy, please let me say this now, I don't know whether I'll be able to repeat it later." Wilson stared at him blankly. What was going on? He took a seat opposite from House.

"Ehm" House cleared his throat, "I'm sorry about yesterday. I… I'm usually not … you know… jealous. I've just never felt like this before and you know this is hard for me to say, but you're the most important thing in my life right now and I want it to stay that way. I'm just afraid of loosing you." Oh, wow, there it was.

He blushed and found a sudden interest in the color of the carpet. When Wilson didn't answer for what seemed like forever, he finally looked up again.

"Damn it, Jimmy, say something!"

But Wilson had trouble finding his voice. From the corner of his eye House saw his ducklings enter the conference room. About time.

"I…" Wilson was stammering, never completing the sentence since House took his arm, yanked him out of his chair and pulled him through the glass doors that separated his office from the conference room. Never loosing grip of Wilson he positioned them in the middle of the room, taking one furious glance at his team before he pulled Jimmy close, exclaimed "I love you, too, Jimmy!" and kissed him roughly.

Cuddy had just left the elevator when she heard House yell something that sounded a lot like a curse. She accelerated her speed and arrived in front of the conference room just in time to see House say something to Wilson and then kissing him. She couldn't help it, she broke into a broad grin when she saw Chase going pale, Foreman looking completely shocked and Cameron nearly fainting. Now she knew what she had seen in House's face earlier. It was love.

She only allowed herself another second or so before she entered the room, face completely unreadable again. "House, I am very happy for the two of you, but we had an agreement, no making out in the hospital!" She added a smile. Wilson and House's team turned towards Cuddy, and Wilson was able to compose himself enough to look back and forth between his lover and his boss. "She knew?" he asked in disbelief.

House smiled, one of those rare smiles that completely knocked the wind out of Wilson, when he said "Won't ever happen again, boss!". But he crossed his fingers behind his back. Just in case.


End file.
